Heater for fluids



` May 9, 1944.

M. W. BARNES HEATER FOR FLUIDS Filed Nov. 16, 194?4 o ...m 00000090000 00000000 u A ooooooooooo. oooooooo ooo m ooooooooooooo oeoooo oooo n Il z u., @am wwwa...

' quirements of the vparticular Patented May 9, 1944 t HEATER ron FLUms Marion W. Barnes, Chicago, Ill., assigner t'o Uni-f versal Oil Products Company, Chicago, lll., a

corporation oi' VDelaware Application November 1s, 1942, serial No. 455,104

f 4 claims. 101.122-356) This is a continuation-impart of my co-pending application Serial No. 364,832, illed November e, 1940, new Patent-No. 2,324,553, granted July The invention is-directed to an 'improved form o! heater which will be found particularly advantageous for heating iluid hydrocarbons to the high temperatures required for their conversion. However, thel invention is not restricted to this particular use, since it will `find numerous other advantageous applications. I

'I'he heater herein provided is of .the general type now well known in the art, wherein names and hot gases resulting 'from the combustion of fuel arev passed upwardly or downwardly over the surface of spaced, `substantially vertical refractory walls, heating the same to a highly radiant condition, heat being transmitted bv radiation from the refractory walls and 'directly from theames and hot gases toa fluid conduit disposed centrally between said walls. In the improved form of heater herein provided, said fluid conduit comprises three vertically parallel rows of horizontally disposed tubes, the Vtubes in adjacent rows being so arranged thatV the outer side of each of the tubes in the two outside rows combustion gases passing thereover, while. op-

posite sides of each of the tubes in the middle row receive heat by radiation from the iian'1es,.`

appear in this particular view, define combustion and radiant heating zones 1 and. whichfaredisposed between the respective side walls 4 and 5 Ireceives heat directly by radiation from the adhot gases and refractory .walls at a reduced rate due to the partial shielding eectof the tubes in the two outer rows. With this arrangement, by varying the sequence of ilow through the three rows of tubes `and/or\by varying ri'ng conditions on opposite sides of the fluid conduit, a wide variety of heating curves is obtainable and the desired-ilowmay be selected to suit the retype of iluid undergoing treatment. In the accompanying diagrammatic drawing Fig. 1 is an elevational view, shown principally in section, of one speciilc form of thel heater provided by the invention. f

lIl'lgs. v2, '3, and 4 ofthe drawing are now diar grams representing three'of the many specific '2, supporting steel beams 3, are mounted. The steel framework supports the refractory shapesoi' lsideV walls l and 5 and roof 8 in any conventional manner not pertinent to the invention and not here illustrated.

" The substantially vertical portions of the side and end wallsof the heater, which latter do not and iluid conduit 9. The latter is located substantially midway between-walls land 5 and comprisesl three vertically parallel rows of horizontally disposed tubes Il with, theV adjacent tubes in the several rows. arranged in staggered formation, as illustrated.

At their lower ends, the side walls 4 and 5 slope inwardly to connect with the side walls il and I2 of uid heating zone Il disposed beneath and'in substantially vertical alignment with fluid conduit 9. Another fluid conduitl llc'omprising, in the case here illustrated, a plurality of super- 4 imposed horizontal rows of horizontally disposed tubes I5 is located within fluid heating zone i3.

A row of iiring ports I8 is provided in the roof of the furnace adjacent each of the side walls l and 5 and corresponding rows of burners il supply fuel and air to the combustion and heat'- ing zones 1 and l through ilring ports i8. The burners and'ilring ports are so arranged that ames and hot gases resulting from combustion ci `the fuel are directed ina substantially continuous sheet downwardly over the Vrefractory surfaces of walls l and 5, heating the latter to a lhiglrily'radiant condition and keeping iluid conduit 9v out of the direct path of ilow ofthe flames and hot combustion gases.'

The tubes of iiuid conduit 9 receive heat by direct radiation from the flames, hot combustion gases and radiant side walls of the heater` Since the tubes in the central row ofl bank l are partially shielded by the tubes in the two router rows, they are subjected to lessintense heating than the tubesin the outer rows and, by varying the sequence of ilow of the iluid undergoing heating through the rows of bank 9 and/or by varying the ilring conditions employed on opposite sides of the heater, a wide variety of heating curves is obtainable and the type of heating curve obtained may be selected to suit the requirements of the particular ty-pe of fluid undergoing treatment. e

,The combustion gases, which have given up a major portion of their 'radiant heat to the tubular elements of bank 9, pass from the combustion and heating zones 'I` and 8 through iluid heating Vzone Il to iiue I8 wherefrom they may pass to a suitable stack, notillustrated. The combustion gases flowing through zone I! in-- timately contact the tubes of bank u and supply heat tothe latter and to the iluid passing therethrough.

Referring: now to Fig. '2, this ngure iuustrates one manner in which the banks of tube 9 and the various vertical rows of tubes in this bank may be connected. In this: particular case, one stream oi' fluid to be heated is supplied to the upf permost tube of the central row and passes downwardly in series through the adjacent tubes of this row to be discharged from .the lowermost tube thereof. 4A separate stream of fluid to be of the outer rows and are commingledgfollowing f their discharge from the uppermost tubes thereof. l

The general direction of' flow of the fluids through tube bank 9 may be reversed.to that illustrated in Fig.- 2, the central stream flowing upwardly through the central row of tubes and the outward streams owing downwardly through the outer row of tubes. The invention also contemplates a flow otherwise like that' il-i lustrated in Fig. 2', with all three streams passed eitrllilr upwardly or downwardly through the In Fig. 3, a single stream of uid is passed upwardly in series through the tubes of the central row and a. separate steam of fluid is passed iirst above described. in these other specic forms of furnace structures. Various other modifications of the general furnace structure will be apparent to those familiar with the artfrom the'teachings of the invention an may be employed withoutdeparting from its broad scope of the invention.

' With heaters of the general type herein prov vided, independent control of the quantity of fuel supplied to the separate combustion and heating zones permits maintaining 'substantially the same conditions in both zones or employing more severe zone. These alternative firing conditions may be A selected to suit requirements with any of the aforementioned flows through the three-row tube bank.

/ The invention also contemplates spacing the tubes of one or both of the two outer rowsof the three-row tube bank on closer or on wider centers upwardly in series throughl the tubes of the righthand outer row and then downwardly in series through the tubes of the right-hand outer row.-

The general direction of flow of either or both streams may, when desired, be reversed to that illustrated in Fig. 3. Also, when desired,the iiow ofthe second named stream may be in a general downward direction. through the-other row to which it is first supplied and upwardly through the outer row. l

than the 'center `to center distance between the adjacent tubes of the central row, so as to either increase or decrease the extent to which the tubes of the central row are shielded by the tubes of the outer rows. The invention also l contemplates using smaller or larger diameter tubes in one of In Fig. 4 a single stream of fluid is passed downlwardly -in series through the tubes of the central row and a separate stream of fluid is passed, rst, upwardly in series through the tubes .of the righthand outer row and` thence upwardly in series 'through the tubes of the left-hand outer row.

the fluid streams than those employed in the other -iluid stream passing through the three-row tube bank. n

I claim, as my invention:

l. A' heater for fluids comprising, in combination, refractory 'side and end walls defining a combustion and heating chamber, a tube bank comprising three vertically parallel rows of horizontal ltubes disposed substantially midway between said side walls within said'chamber, and means for directing flames and hot gases resulting from the combustion of fuel through said chamber over The general direction of flow for either or both streams may also be reversed to that illustrated in vFlg. 4, when desired. I also contemplate, ilrst, passing the second named stream upwardly through the left-hand outer ro and thence upwardly through the right-hand outer row. It is also within the scope of the invention to employ a now -otherwise similar to that illustrated in F18. 4 with the second named stream in series through the two-outer rows and downwardly in each row with either upward or downward flow 'of the rst central row.

'Ihe three-row tube bankV of the heater herein lnamed stream of fluid through fthe said outerowaadiacent tubes in each of said rows being connecd in series, means for provided lends itself to numerous other specific flows for a single stream or for separate streams of `fluid. .Some -of A'the other flows are disclosed in my aforementioned co-pending application Serial No. 364,832 and still others are disclosed ln a dlvision thereof iiled November 16,1942, as Serial No. 465,703. However, thepresent application is Y directed to a heater .of the type disclosed wherein.

tube bank 8 serves to heat .separate streams of iiuid, one stream being through one row of the bank andtheotherstream beingpasse through the other. two rows :of the bank. A

The aforementioned co-pend'ing application Serial No. 364,832 also discloses' several specic forms of `the furnace structure provided by the invention other than that herein 'illustrated and abovedese'ribed. It is within'the scope-of thev row of tubes.;

the inner surfaces' of said refractory vside walls in a substantially vertical direction and in radiant heat transmitting relation to said tube bank. said sage ot another stream of iiudthrough the cen' tral row oftheba'nk.

2. A heater for nuids comprising a heating chamber havlng'refractory side walls, a tube bank within said chamber disposed substantially midway between the side wsllsrthereof, said bank comprising. two verticallyparallel outer rows ofY tubes and an intermediate row of vtubes between hot combustion products through said chamber oppositesides of bank. a 601mm?n iiuid supply line foisaid outerrows and lmeans for passing fluid from said line through both of the last-named rows, and an independent i'luid supply line with said intermediate s. 'me heater characterized in that said outer rows or tubes are f constructed and for the parallel flow of huid-from said common supply definedin claim 2A further l therethrough line.

4. The heater as characterized in-that said .outer rows-of tubes invention `to employs general flow, as above are connected in series with each said common supply line.

as defined in claim' 2 `mener @momma Y MAIoN'wpBsn-Nss. 

